If it's not Happy at least it's not Sad either
by Terres De Brume
Summary: Sam starts wearing gloves when he's around twelve.  From then on, the Winchesters' lives can never be the same anymore.


**Author's Note:** So, I'm waaaaaaaay behind the series (like, I'm not even done watching Season 3 yet) so abviously some things probably won't add up with Supernatural, but meh. Anyways, I had fun writing this, even though it's not a giggle-worthy story. I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much is I enjoyed writing it!

Also, loooong one shot of doom ahead. You've been warned.

**Edit:** So, I went back and corrected a few typos, reworked a few sentences to make them clearer AND, corrected the pagination. I'd forgottent that FanficNet doesn't do asterisks anymore. Sorry about that!

**If it's not Happy, at least it's not Sad either.**

Sam starts wearing gloves when he's around twelve.

It's winter in Oregon, and nobody really pays attention to it but Dean, who knows how much his Sammy hates wearing hand-down clothes and immediately picks up on the ever present, three size-too big and use-fuzzy woolen gloves.

Dean convinces Dad to get a new pair to the kid as a Christmas present and leaves it as that, thinking it's one of those weird fashion-y phases every kid has to go through. It's not like Sam has that much room to express himself with his clothes anyway, he might as well have that one, right?

oooooooooooo

The gloves don't come off after that, not even when they're in California for the summer and Dean and Dad make fun of Sam for them. They're too warm –black wool fuzzy with worn- and too tight –it's barely been a year, but Sammy looks determined to triple his size in as little time as possible… hell, he'll soon be filling Dean's old clothes!

Still, Dean doesn't say anything, especially not to Dad, because all around, people are starting to talk about kids who can do… stuff. The news are starting to talk about those kids, the moms in the hallways, the employees in the motels, and everyone looks nervous, mistrusting, afraid. They say these things start during puberty, that you really shouldn't hang around kids like that because; after all, _who knows what goes on in those freaks' heads?_ And, _it's not like they're like _us_!_ So, _they wouldn't hesitate to brainwash your kids._

So, yeah, Dean notices that Sam clings to his gloves as much as he possibly can, and when he's got to take them off –whenever he goes to the bathroom, or the teachers start bitching about it- he takes to doing things with his wrists and elbows, even his knees or mouth sometimes, like his hands are horribly sensitive or something.

But he keeps quiet about it.

oooooooooooo

Dean doesn't ask anything until Sam's fourteenth year, when one of his teacher hands him a bottle of hydrating cream with a sympathetic smile. Dean gives him a blank look, and the teacher –Webster? Mobster? - nods slightly, like they're in on the same secret.

"For your brother's hands," he says, and Dean remembers he actually teaches chemistry to both Sam and his classes. "I have eczema too, I know how uncomfortable it can get."

Dean nods in thanks, tight smile in place, and rushes to his next class, bottle hastily shoved in his bag and plan for cornering Sam about this already forming. It's not easy, because if there's one thing Dean's good at, it's ignoring things he doesn't know how –or is afraid to deal with. And let's face it, he really, really doesn't know what to do with that, with the heavy lump settling in his gut, the throat-clenching fear seizing him whenever he lets his thoughts wander toward the consequences of whatever Sam's trying to hide under his gloves.

But, hey, Dean Winchester's nothing if not strong headed, and once he's made his mind to ask a question, he's certainly not going to balk out of it. He doesn't say anything at first, when they come back at the dingy little motel room, but seizes his chance when Sam needs to wash off the coke he spilled on his gloves.

"Dude, why d'you do that?"

"Do what?"

"That! Close the tap with your elbows. That's what hands are for, y'know."

Sam looks like a rabbit caught between fox and hound, and Dean hates himself for putting him in this position, but it has to be done, has to be asked, and he's been putting this conversation off for way too long already.

"Oh," he says as though he's just remembered it, "And don't bother with the lame eczema excuse, the chemo teacher gave me something for that already."

Sam's look shifts to an unhealthy dose of despair before he speaks the words Dean's been dreading to hear for over a year now.

"Dean I… You know those kids they speak of on TV? I… Dude, I think I'm one of them." He takes a deep, deep breath, like he's been drowning for the past two years and Dean just pulled him out of the water. "It started two years ago, in history class. The teacher wanted to test us on art history, so she gave us a copy of some obscure painting and a quiz… not too hard, you know, just, estimate the date, the school of painting, put in a few words on the masters of the times, shit like that."

"And?" Dean prompts, breathless.

"And I just touched the sheet, and _knew_ Dean. Like, everything she wanted and more. I knew the painter's name, the date, what kind of colors he used, what kind of ink the copy was printed with, the brand of the copy machine, heck I even knew the teacher was upset about breaking up with her husband when she did the copies. It was… man, it was _overwhelming_."

"Wait, wasn't it that time you asked out of a test because you'd got a migraine?"

"Yeah. It was the first time, but it's only gotten stronger. I don't really get migraines anymore, not when the object I touch is recent enough, but old stuff? Man, they're a pain in the ass."

"Hence the gloves."

"Yeah, hence the gloves. It's only my hands. The rest, it doesn't do anything, but whenever I touch something with my hands… bam. And I can't stop it. I tried, Dean, but I can't."

There's a long silence while Dean processes what he's just been told. Then they both heave a long, long sigh, bone weary and too deep for their age, and they look into each other's eyes in silent agreement: Dad must never know. Of course, he loves them, but there's no saying what he'll do to Sam if he finds out the kid's getting different from the average human being.

oooooooooooo

They're old enough to go on hunts with Dad now, and Sam's power comes in handy more than once: when Dad's in the loo, or taking a long deserved nap, Sam pulls out his gloves and touches whatever he brought back from the suspect area –an antiquity, a stain of slime, a splinter in his shoes- and they use what he learns to help Dad. It takes imagination to present this as the credible result of researches, but Dean's got imagination by the bucket when it comes to getting them out of trouble, and Sam's smart enough to weave his brother's ideas in a believable frame, so it works.

Dad looks at them with a funny look, sometimes, but he never says anything, and they're certainly not about to tell him about Sam, so it's uncomfortable, but it works too.

oooooooooooo

Sam's seventeen when a guy who goes by Magneto first uses the word Mutants. They're in a motel, the three of us, and the TV's snowy as hell, but the word sounds as loud as a gunshot in his and Dean's ears.

"I don't like that word." Sam says very quietly. "It sounds like they're not human."

"That's because they're not, son." Dad says.

Sam manages to hide his tears until Dad's gone, and Dean barely restrains from kicking the TV to its death. Nobody's got any right to decide his brother's not human.

Still, it doesn't mean that they won't, and there are more and more anti-mutant manifestations, so they take extra precautions, in and out of the house, and they stick to Sam's story of highly sensitive eczema with more fervor than ever.

oooooooooooo

Dad finds out the summer after that, when a harpy manages to tear one of Sam's glove off. It wouldn't be a problem –they're in the middle of a mountain, not many objects to fall on- if not for the remains of one of its earliest preys. Sam falls straight on the skeleton, and screams when his hand touches a rusty, old-fashioned compass.

(Dean's by his side in less than seconds, and Dad takes the beast off, but it's too late, because now he knows for sure, and they'll have to explain.)

oooooooooooo

Dean nearly ends up having a fist fight with Dad, but Sam steps in, bare hands holding them both back. Dad flinches away like he's been burnt, and Sam leaves the room, not coming back until morning.

oooooooooooo

Dean wants to punch him for worrying him so much, but Sam looks so desperate, black and purple and blue all over, split lip and swollen eye, Dean drags him to the bed and they sleep in each other's arms, like they haven't done in years, because even when he was three, Sam's never looked like Dean's baby brother that much before.

oooooooooooo

In the morning, the news reports about the savage death of a group of kids from the neighborhood, pierced to death with roots and thorns by a girl their age.

Nobody cares about her mother's tears when she's taken by an entire SWAT team, but Sam and Dean sneak out to bring her a bouquet of flowers before Dad make them leave. They know it's not much, but she smiles and thanks them, and she kisses Sam's forehead, thankful of him for trying to defend her daughter against those who wanted to beat her to death.

(They leave Los Angeles, and Sam doesn't say a word until they reach Detroit.)

oooooooooooo

Sam's accepted to Stanford University, in pre-law. Dean's sad that he wants to leave him with Dad, but he knows things are only getting worse between the two of them, and he's not sure it's only a misunderstanding.

"The worst part is, it comes from him, you know?"

"What?"

"This," Sam says, shaking his hand a little. "I researched what they say about it. It's genetic, and it comes from the father. That's why this guy, Magneto, that's why he called us Mutants."

"But if it's genetic, why don't I have it?"

"I don't know. Probably a dormant gene, in you, you know? Like the gene for blue eye? I don't know why. Maybe you just haven't developed your power yet?"

Dean's twenty two, long past the period where powers develop and he says so, but Sam doesn't have any answer for him, and he's not sure he wants to know anyway. They part on a rainy day of early July, Sam's messenger bag and his backpack haphazardly thrown on his shoulders as he waits for the taxi that has to bring him as far as possible. Dad's not here –he's never here for Sam anymore- so they can hug as tight and long as they want, but they've got to let go, eventually, and Sam climbs in the cab, clutching his brand new leather gloves and the dog tags Dean gave him.

(They identify him as Reader, and Sam thinks it's appropriate.)

oooooooooooo

(Turns out Dean can feel his little brother's emotional state, even across a whole country. It's not really useful for the job, and it's far from being as powerful as Sam (the charts he found on the internet say he's probably a Class Two, Sam's at least a Class Four) but it helps a lot in allowing him to get used to his baby brother's absence.)

oooooooooooo

Dad never mentions Sam.

It's as though he never existed. Dean tries to lie, but Sam's nothing if not realist, and he doesn't believe it for one second. Still, he humors his big brother and they go on pretending everything is fine in their world, despite the anti-Mutant protests and the constant talk of a registration act coming.

oooooooooooo

(Dean nearly laughs out loud in de middle of a case when Sam meets Jessica. He's never sent this level of timid adoration before, and it's refreshing to get something else than his 'currently studying' vibes.)

oooooooooooo

He gets in a fight with Dad.

They trade insults, painful truths, aiming to hurt as much as they can. Dad's strong, but Dean's stronger because he doesn't speak for himself, he speaks for Sam, his little Sammy, and he's always stronger when it comes to Sammy, always.

(He ends up driving out on Dad with the Impala that's been his since he was sixteen.)

oooooooooooo

(They get back in touch three weeks later, but things aren't the same anymore. They both know they'll never be.)

oooooooooooo

Dean phones Sam for the debate.

Doctor Grey's sexy, reasonable, calm and stable, but Kelly's good at what he does. He pushes the buttons of fear, of defiance, he excites the wariness of his co-Senators and throws oil on the flames of hatred until they all applaud him, proud and ecstatic and ready to pass the Registration Act.

(Sam swears softly, muffled, cautious not to wake up Jessica, who doesn't know.)

oooooooooooo

Jessica dies not too long after that, and Dean can't help but feel guilty. He's the one who pulled Sam into a hunt for a father who hasn't wanted him by his side for a long time, after all.

Sam's devastated, and Dean does his best to be there, conceal the fact that Sam's pain tears at his chest as strongly as his own.

(He's not sure the guilt he feels is really only his, but that's okay, because he's not certain that precise point really matters right now either.)

oooooooooooo

Kelly disappears two day after the Bloody Mary case. Nobody notices, of course, since he's still appearing in public, but Sam and Dean spent their entire lives training to see what other people usually miss, so it's not that hard to see the yellow flash in the pseudo Senator's eyes when he blinks. They don't really know what's happening but Sam, who's got a few contacts in the Mutant community, hears rumors about Magneto.

Nothing precise, but enough so that they decide to keep an eye on that, too.

oooooooooooo

They're in their third motel since Lawrence when the Liberty Island terrorist attack happens and everybody just forgets nine-eleven altogether because this, this is terrifying –they all remember the news reports of senator Kelly stepping on a beach, half man, half fish, lost and small and ugly. This is real and oh-so much _more_ than just crazy fanatism, so much more than one religion against the others, so much more than the clash of two different cultures.

This is, they think, Human race fighting for its survival, and Humans don't think it's a fight they can afford to lose.

oooooooooooo

Sam screams with the raw power unleashed in New York, and even Dean can feel it crawling its way up his spine, present and real and familiar and dangerous all at once.

(They don't leave the Impala for three nights after that, always their safe place from everything in the world, just like before, when they were little and nobody even knew some kids could move entire houses without lifting a finger.)

oooooooooooo

Things go relatively quiet after Magneto's put in jail.

They go on hunting, looking for Dad, pretending Sam's got heavy skin problem and maneuvering around witnesses so that he can touch things without them seeing. His power is growing stronger. Nowadays, he doesn't even need to touch things to know stuff about them. He just takes a glove off and lets his hand hover around the furniture and, when he feels the special pull of dark magic, of an angry spirit, he looks carefully and, sometimes, he touches.

Sam doesn't like touching things too much –he can select what information he wants to concentrate on, what he needs to be precise and what he can afford to keep blurry, but it only works when he's got time to brace himself, and he can't cut the flow. Whenever he takes his gloves off, he's even more careful than before, keeps his hands close to his chest, out of reach.

He doesn't have a problem with touching flesh, though –his power has no effect on people- and he even seems to crave it a little, like his skin is tired of feeling only leather and sweat.

(Dean may or may not use that as an excuse to get more backrubs and massages than strictly necessary, but his shoulder really is killing him sometimes, and he knows Sam needs to be reminded bare hands can be okay too, so there.)

oooooooooooo

John dies two days before the terrorist mutant attacks the president in the White House. Sam and Dean are so busy trying not to fall apart after everything that went on –and how unfair is it that Dad should die _just_ when he was finally trying to understand what it meant to have Mutant sons?- they nearly don't hear about it. Bobby calls them though, says the raised security levels will be a big problems for Hunters… more difficulties to approach the jobs, to keep a clean record.

Sam and Dean worry about those of the Mutants who don't have anyone to rely on, those like them, trying to hide their power and desperately looking for a way to go invisible. They worry about Sam's visions, getting worse and worse with time, worry about those psychics out there, whose powers have nothing to do with any gene, but everyone think they do, and everyone use the gore-ish stories of those psychics as arguments to shut Mutants out of society in a firmer way.

Bobby looks at them very intensely sometimes, but he's mostly worried about the impact of John's death, and they don't tell him about their powers. He doesn't need to know, and the raise in governmental security currently is the last of their worry.

oooooooooooo

Weeks pass. A month, maybe two.

Dean's driving when Sam starts howling with pain, and he barely has time to pull the Impala to a stop before the pain flares through his own brain, hot and white and overwhelming, a torrent of lava searing from ear to ear, threatening to split his skull.

When it stops, his head feels stuffed, brain gone and replaced by cotton. Sam is unconscious, blood oozing from his ears and nostrils. Whatever happened, Dean thinks, it affected Mutants specifically, and had more effects on those who were more powerful. Bobby jumps out of the car and opens the driver door before he is overtaken with a seizure of his own.

Dean barely hears him scream before he passes out.

(His last thought before the dark is for Sam. Always Sam, Bobby won't matter until he's sure Sam's going to be alright.)

oooooooooooo

Dean comes to his wits a few hours later on the backseat of the Impala, and groans. He feels for Sam and gets nothing, so he ignores the flaring pain at the back of his skull and uses the driver seat as a leverage to pull himself closer to his baby bro and take his hand in his. Sam's alive and his breathing is normal, so there's that. Still, Dean wishes they could afford to stop at a hospital.

Bobby drives wordlessly until they come back to his place, away from the town and the bar they spent the afternoon squatting… a day off, they'd decided.

So much for respite, really.

oooooooooooo

(Bobby takes their powers in stride without so much as a blink and Dean doesn't even need to use his to know Sam's throat is clenching from seeing the old man act as more of a father than John ever did. He loved them, that much was true, but he still was more of an Officer Instructor than anything else.)

oooooooooooo

The world's biggest collective migraine sets everyone over the edge. The number of Humans versus Mutants fights skyrockets, and the badmouthing about the community goes way over the roof.

Sam and Dean manage to continue hunting, despite the FBI, Gordon Walker and all the others –a professor Xavier approached Sam –well, spoke in his mind, really- offering a refuge, but they refuse: it feels safer on their own, on the road, with their lifelong home that is the Impala.

(Besides, Demons can sometimes speak in your mind too, and there's no way of saying who really spoke to Sam.

Sammy thinks it's a real offer.

Dean can't bring himself to take the risk.)

oooooooooooo

The Cure literally shakes their world.

They get a phone call from Jo, asking if they intend to take it. Surprisingly, it's Sam who roars the most final 'NO' he's ever given to anyone. Dean hangs up on Jo without warning and watches Sam come undone in front of him, watches him curl up and cry and whimper like a wounded dog, like someone grabbed his soul and started tugging at it, and that's when it hits Dean.

Sam is a Mutant. And he likes it that way.

It's ridiculous to say, really, because at this point, they've been dealing with it for twelve years, and Dean is supposed to have noticed by now, but he guesses it never really hit him how much Sam stopped calling himself a man, stopped considering himself Human and embraced his mutation.

(It scares Dean a little. It doesn't show, but Sam's the angry one, and Dean can't help but fear what he'll decide to do now that they're trying to turn him into something he hasn't been for years.)

oooooooooooo

Sam says it's fine, he's had a Human brother for years, and he's not stupid enough to believe it's the X gene that made him as awesome as he is. He knows they can live with 'them' at peace, if both sides try hard enough.

(Dean notices how Sam pointedly _doesn't_ point how Dean speaks in terms of _them_ and _us_, too.)

oooooooooooo

They're in Hollywood and they've just saved the _Hell Hazers II: The Reckoning_ from cancelling –_via_ saving the crew from an angry writer- when Dean comes to the motel roaring drunk and collapses on his bed, throat too tight but unable to cry.

Sammy, dear Sammy, holds his head in his laps and runs feather-like fingers through his hair for the rest of the night.

(Dean cries somewhere around breakfast time, and that's it, they kiss goodbye to being 'Human'.

It's painful and it's easy, it tears at their chests and it makes breathing easier, it's the end and it's the beginning, and they might as well be the first of all Mutants, for all they know because, that's it, they don't want to be called Humans anymore –it doesn't even _matter_ anymore- they just want to be called _Persons_ instead of _Those_, and if 'they' think it's the same, then clearly they missed an important lesson along the line.)

oooooooooooo

They meet Marie the next day, tired and peaceful, when they step in the bar she works at and she takes their order for lunch.

She's shy and strong, quiet and present, and she reminds Dean of Sam.

She's got two white strands at the front of her hair, but they don't mention it and she doesn't mention Sam's glove despite the heating, and they talk and talk and talk for a long, long time, and nobody really knows what to say anymore when an anti-Cure demonstration passes the street.

oooooooooooo

They follow Marie out for her break, because she's nice and she reminds them of a Hunter of sorts, even if she's a civilian, and neither Dean nor Sam want to let go of her. Not yet, anyways. So they follow her and they have to cross the mob, smothered by shouts and sweat and body heat. The first sidewalk is for those who approve, encouraging people to _be normal_ and _solve their problem_ and _reclaim their humanity_, and Dean scolds because, _seriously_?

The other side of the street chants _we don't need a cure_, and Dean can feel Sam's relief, his pride and his hope at seeing people fight for their right to be themselves, to live their lives as they are rather than forced into a role they shouldn't have to try and fulfill.

Marie looks sad and tired as she guides them to her pocket-sized flat.

oooooooooooo

"I don't understand why they need to fight over it so hard," Marie murmurs once they're all settled with strong coffees. "What's the harm in calling it a Cure? It _is_ one, at least for _some_ people."

"Like you?" Sam asks, and the set of her jaw hardens.

"Yeah, like me." She says, voice shaking but clear, her head held high. "Why, is it a problem?"

Sam shrugs, and Dean finds himself in the very unusual and uncomfortable position of the brother expected to explain what the hell the other brother is talking about. He may or may not shoot a surprised –certainly not panicked- glance toward Sam, who raises an eyebrow.

Smug bastard.

"Whatever," Dean says eloquently. "People make their own choices, I don't give a flying fuck. We're not exactly in a position to judge anyone, anyways."

"That the reason why your brother has a problem with the Cure?" Marie asks, voice soft but unrelenting.

"I don't have a _problem_ with it," Sam snaps. "I just think it's a lost fight." He shrugs. "Whatever we do, once our powers have declared, we can't be humans anymore."

"Wha—"

"We're still people," Dean hastily adds –and since when is he the one with the diplomacy, uh?- "we'll always be people, with feelings and qualities and defaults and dreams and all that chick flick crap… just… not Humans. Like Superman, you know? A person, but not Human."

"You've taken the cure," Sam says, looking out the tiny kitchen window. "Tell me, do you feel like one of them?"

Marie opens her mouth to speak, but no word comes out. She tries once more, twice. She sighs, defeated, after the third aborted attempt.

"Not really," she says. "I remember how it was. I still hear some people in my head… I hurt people," she explains. "Skin on skin contact, it was… dangerous. For them. I used to absorb their strength, their powers too, when they were Mutants. And I hear them, in my head. Not many, really… only two that I really remember very well. But they're still… here." She waves at her head, uncomfortable.

"See?" Sam asks, softly. "I don't blame you for taking the Cure. That's a choice only you could make, and deciding whether it was the good one or not is yours as well. I'm just saying I don't think the Cure can live to anyone's expectations. In the end, we can't forget what we've been, what we've had, good or bad, and maybe you can overcome that, but you can never _erase_ _it_, and what you are now still isn't what they would want you to be."

Marie looks very sad for a second, and Dean feels Sam's fear that she'll start crying echoing his own, but she doesn't. She's strong, Marie, stronger than she lets on, stronger than she even thinks.

So, maybe, it's not _that_ surprising when they leave Hollywood with a third duffel bag in the trunk and a girl with white bangs in the backseat, despite their protest that the life can be really, really dangerous.

oooooooooooo

Marie is a fast learner. She learns to shoot quickly, remembers the Latin of the Exorcisms in less than two days, applies the security rules without thinking by their third motel. She's going to be a great partner as soon as she's done with the drilling, and Dean feels like he gained a little sister in the deal.

(He's not sure Sam considers Marie like a little sister, but only time will tell.)

oooooooooooo

They tell her about their powers, and even though she doesn't regret taking the Cure, Dean catches her looking a little wistful sometimes, like she wishes she could have had a less terrible power, one she could have dealt with.

Also, she really, really likes massages, and they bicker about it so often that, one day, Sam basically _buries them_ under his weigh and _demands_ that _they_ give him a massage, for once.

(Dean may or may not tell Marie where to tickle Sam to get away with anything, and hands may or may not slip during the pillow fight that follows after Dean has left the bed.)

oooooooooooo

Marie think Reader is a very appropriate name for Sam, but she never calls him that.

She tells them her name was Rogue, and it's appropriate, too, but they never call her that either.

(And when Dean teases them about their codenames and asks them whether they want blue spandex and red underwear for Halloween, they gang up on him and dub him _Babyphone_, which they both find hilarious, even after Dean reminds his brother than it technically makes _him_ the baby.)

oooooooooooo

There's a big fight in Alcatraz, but they only hear rumors of it afterwards, because it just so happens that the day of the fight is the day they inadvertently open the door to Hell, not too long after Sam nearly got stabbed in the back by a soldier who should have been in Afghanistan –and really, Marie is a blessing, with a damn sharp aim at that.

(Dean pointedly _doesn't _notice the little _something_ beneath the relief he can feel coursing through Sam, because it's not his place, and he doesn't really want to risk triggering memories of Jessica or anything.)

oooooooooooo

They decide to take a break after they've dealt with a couple of Demons possessing a barmaid and a priest –a _Priest_ for fuck's sake! If Demons don't fear Holy Ground anymore, the world really must be coming to an end. It's not easy, finding a city small enough that there aren't any Mutant Detectors at every public building and big enough that not everybody will be following them around for a bit of gossip.

Fortunately, the Bad Boy vibes work like a charm, and Dean doesn't come back to the motel that night, and it feels _good_ to be with someone who isn't Sam or Marie for a while… as much as he loves Sam and he's ready to call Marie family he still needs sort-of alone time, once in a while.

(When he comes round the motel with breakfast and coffee, Sam and Marie are twisted together under the covers of the King size in the room.

He smiles and takes the Queen size that should have been Marie's.)

oooooooooooo

The bastards gift him dog tags for Christmas. Dog tags that read fucking _Babyphone_.

(He spends the evening bellowing all the swear-words he knows and vows to murder them in their sleep, but the dog tags end up safely tucked under his shirt, the chain twisting with the leather cord of Sam's amulet.)

oooooooooooo

(Marie gets _Rogue_ dog tags from him for Valentine days. Dean pretends it's a reward for breaking Ruby's nose, but the truth is, he likes to see her smile as much as he likes to see Sammy's goofy grin.)

oooooooooooo

They've been breathing more freely since Gordon died: it's always easier to relax without someone Hunting you like a dog –even though most Hunters are Mutant-wary, at best… they think they're too close to what they're Hunting for comfort, and Dean's forced to admit that, sometimes, it can really get dangerous.

Like that time a Demon manages to possess Marie.

Jo tries to help her out of her chair after they've exorcised the Demon. At first nothing happens, but then blue veins start appearing on her face, down her throat, she pales like crazy, and Sam has to literally _tear_ her off Marie.

oooooooooooo

Marie freaks out and doesn't come out of Bobby's room for three days.

(Later this week, they hear from a passing Mutant that there are rumors Magneto will soon be back in the game. As if they didn't have anything else to worry about, like Marie, or the fact that every Demon of Hell seem to believe Sam's going to be their King or something.)

oooooooooooo

Apparently, they understand after a while, those who touched Marie's skin while the Cure was active are now immune to her power. The others are just as vulnerable to it as they ever were.

Sam and Dean worry for her at first, because she seems to be having a hard time accepting she can't be touched anymore, but when it's confirmed she can go on cuddling them all she wants –and more, in Sam's case, of course- she gives a big, relieved grin and cries for hours.

(They ask if she wants to try and have another shot, even though everybody knows the Cure can't be produced anymore and they're carefully guarding the remaining stocks, but she sighs and tells them she might as well get used to it.)

oooooooooooo

The Demon possessions are still as numerous as ever, and harder for them to track since most shops and bars are now equipped with Mutant detectors that give wild whines every time Sam or Marie walk too close to them. They only manage because the Detectors are programmed to detect only Class Three and up Mutants, so Dean goes under the radar, even after the government introduces Electronic Marking for registered Mutants.

oooooooooooo

They see a ten years old boy with bright orange skin get arrested by an entire SWAT team when they cross Alabama. Another kid, one who's registered, shies away in the shop he was about to leave, detectors blinking blue to signal his presence, signal that he's bugged, like he should be.

The three of them clench their fists and grind their teeth when they visit the mother for what turns out to be a Gnome hunting.

oooooooooooo

They leave Alabama soon after –the Gnome really wasn't a big deal- and follow the trail of a group of Demons to Danbury, where they find a trail of dead Humans, fuming ruins and solid proof that Magneto is not only back in the game, but also determined to ally with hellions to succeed in his quest to put Mutants at the top of the food chain. Permanently.

Marie leads them to '1407 Graymalkin Lane, just outside of Salem Center, Westchester County, New York'.

oooooooooooo

They're welcomed to Freak High by a guy who looks around Marie's age, maybe one year or two older than she is. He's got a baby's face, though, and big blue eyes that don't really suit his twenty-two –ish silhouette. He frowns when he sees her, but the look's quickly gone and he leans in for a hug. She stops him.

"Too late," she says, "the Cure's already worn off."

The weather's warm around them, and most people wear short sleeved T-Shirt. Marie is no exception, and the guy frowns anew.

"Why are you dressed like this then?"

"Well I…."

"Rogue!" A female voice interrupts, "What a pleasure to see you here!"

She's not too tall, but her white hair contrasts nicely with her dark skin, her long sleeved tunic reveals her _very_ nice curves, and Dean feels Sam elbowing him before he has even enough time to consider a whistle

(Later on, when the woman introduces herself as _'Ororo Munroe, school's headmistress '_ Dean privately agrees Sam might not have had that annoying an idea.)

oooooooooooo

They spend the afternoon touring around the school while Ororo explains about its history, its purpose, Charles Xavier and Jean Grey and Scott Summers, their dreams and their fight. She's a no-nonsense kind of woman. She doesn't really smile, and she's obviously used to hide behind metaphorical barriers, but Dean likes a challenge, and it's not like he wants anything else than a bit of fun for the day, after all.

(He very dutifully ignores the pleased waves coming from Sam because, _damn_ the boy should be taking care of his girlfriend rather than try and set his big brother up.)

oooooooooooo

They catch up with Marie around dinnertime, in the dining hall.

All the students are here and, for the most part, they don't really pay attention to anything outside of their plate –Ororo explains that collective dinner is a new addition, one that came up only after the school was assaulted, not too long after the apparition of the Cure. Apparently, she thinks having all the kids together at regular hours is a good idea, and both Winchester brothers have to frown at that: psychological well-being is all good, but they've always been trained to be more on the safe side.

Probably why they've got so much issues, but now's not the time to mention that.

Anyways, they're following Ororo around the table and steadfastly ignoring anyone who calls them by their Codenames –and Dean doesn't even _want_ to know how they got them, he's grateful enough that the kids only call him _Phone_- when Marie pushes the door, dragging a very grumpy man behind her. He's got a funny haircut and a weird sniffing tic or something, but aside from that, he looks like the kind of guy Dean could get along with alright.

"I'd like to introduce you to someone," Marie says, tugging at his hand until they're face to face with the Winchester brothers. "Guys, this is Logan. He's the one who brought me here the first time."

They've heard the story, of course they have, and Dean even knows Marie used to have a crush on this Logan guy –not that she told him so, but he can feel the nostalgia of it as she clings to his arm- so they nod to him politely, and Marie looks pleased.

"Logan, this Dean Winchester, and his brother, Sam." And she doesn't say the word 'boyfriend' but the ways she goes to curl against Sam's chest is more than enough.

Logan quirks an eyebrow and shoots a surprised look at Sam –Dean's shoulders instantly straighten: Sam maybe perfectly able to defend himself, but he's certainly not going to let anyone bully his little Sammy- then his gaze shifts to where 'Iceman' is… well, basically staring at Marie.

"I've heard about you," Logan says instead of the question he obviously wants to ask. "Reader, right?"

"Sam," Sam corrects. "I don't mind codenames, but I like them to stay just that. _Codes._ I'm more than my power."

Logan's eyebrow climbs up a notch and he nods, slowly, before going to sit between Ororo and a blue guy with a tail who strongly reminds Dean of some kind of Diablo –and he has to force his smile to remain sincere instead of doing his usual megawatts jump, like it does in front of witnesses and/or potential foes.

They sit down, Dean between Ororo and Marie, Sam on her other side, and they spend a weird meal trying to mind their manners and _not_ look like they've spent most of their lives –or their recent life, in Marie's case- eating cheap junk food in a car.

(Iceman stares at them intently and even has the balls to look pissed at Sam and Marie's proximity –which, with both Logan _and_ Dean looking out for them, counts for something- up until Sam 'accidentally' spills ketchup on his glove and uses the pretext to have a little skin on skin contact with Marie's neck.

Dean swears he can see Logan smirk.)

oooooooooooo

Marie told them the school was safe and they could leave the Impala in the garage without fear, so of course, it comes as a bit of a surprise when Iceman and a twelve-years-old looking girl come with one of sawn off shotguns, fully loaded. The girl has enough sense to back off a bit when she meet three discontented glares, but Iceman doesn't flinch, and even seems like he's restraining a smug smirk.

Oh, the clenching urge to smash a guy's head.

Dean's felt it more than once before, but this one has a particular taste to it. Dean knows his life is weird, and he hasn't got much to protect –a brother, a car, a sister of sorts, nearly in that order- but what he decides to keep safe, he'll go to unfathomable length to keep it out of harm's way, either literally or figuratively. And the spark in that guy's eyes, not evil, not even _mean_ just satisfied to have some sort of leverage over a rival, it's nearly enough for Dean to punch him.

Of course, first, he has to explain why they brought a trunkful of military ammo in a high school in the first place.

(Iceman –whose real name turns out to be Bobby- pulls such a face when Ororo believes their stories about ghosts and Demons without question that Dean almost wants to laugh out loud.

Or kiss her, he still isn't sure.)

oooooooooooo

Turns out Ororo's had to deal with her fair share of ghosts and spirits, back when she was worshipped as a goddess by a random African tribe –can she get any _more_ badass?- so the idea that Demons might want to possess Magneto and his minions doesn't seem _that_ farfetched to her. Which is good, because in the next hour, all the doors and windows are properly salted and voodoo-sand-ed –with duct tape to fix it in place- Devil's Traps are drawn in all strategic areas –including the cockpit of their damned _private jet_- and plans for emergency salt guns, holy water reserves and printout exorcisms are drawn.

It won't prevent Demons from trying, and it may not even be enough to prevent them from getting a student or two, but at least if the Mansion goes down, it'll go down fighting, and it's a comforting thought, especially with Lilith walking around freely.

oooooooooooo

They leave Ororo in charge of the kids' protection, with a copy of Dad's journal, just in case –she's got enough balls to digest everything supernatural it contains, and Logan's enough of a soldier that he'll help her, whether he understands the situation fully or not, so if they combine that with the kids' powers, they're as safe as they'll ever be.

Leaving's hard, but at least Marie and Bobby are more or less reconciled, and the kid isn't trying to steal Sam's girlfriend anymore, so there's progress.

(Dean's dog tags stay with Ororo, and if Sam and Marie notice it, they don't mention it.)

oooooooooooo

"Marie," Sam shouts out during their next encounter with Vampires, "I swear when all this is over, I am _so_ going to marry you!"

"_Good_" Marie replies, while beheading one of them, "my sentiment exactly!"

(Dean smiles and swears to kill them in their sleep if they try to make him look like a penguin.)

oooooooooooo

The first time Marie uses her power against a spirit, Dean thinks they kind of had it coming and, all things considered, they're lucky it didn't have to happen sooner than that.

It's a complete accident this time, barely two days after they've killed Lilith, and the three of them are as good as death warmed over, so that when the Banshee launches herself at Dean, he's pinned to the ground faster than you can say poltergeist. Sam instantly grabs the salt gun, of course, but the Banshee uses Dean as a shield, and she'd take him down in her bog if not for Marie's hotheaded intervention.

The Banshee disappears almost as soon as Marie touches it, and Sam yells at her so much for taking an inconsiderate risk, Dean almost fears his brother's going to start throwing punches.

(Marie vomits the Banshee out afterward, thick, angry black slime that vanishes before it touches the ground and leaves her trembling, burning with fever. It's different from touching Humans, Marie explains, because she doesn't absorb any thought, and nothing stays after she pukes it all out. According to her, it's the best use possible for her power.

Sam loudly points out all she had to corroborate her theory were lucky guesses: she could have ended up possessed or worse: dead. They don't talk for a whole day afterwards, and Dean carefully doesn't say he agrees with Sam.

If Marie's cold shoulder treatment is anything to go by, she knows anyway.)

oooooooooooo

There's a slight lull in the business after the Banshee case, so Dean and Marie break into a wedding shop to select a gown that Dean comes back to buy in the day. They've got to run away after that, to avoid a nasty encounter with the Sheriff's guns and an awkward explanation as to why exactly none of them is Electronically Tagged.

They get the rings in the next town -two simple bands of silver- two tuxes in the following one, and then a Polaroid that Dean claims is his wedding gift to them.

(Marie loves the gift so much, the first roll of paper dies by the end of the day, and they resolve to buy a box for all the photos she takes.

It sits in the middle of the car, because there's no room in the trunk, what with the three duffel bags.)

oooooooooooo

Sam and Marie get married on Mom's birthday, a Tuesday. The sun's hiding behind a stock of cloud, the beach is nearly desert, and the wind sends sand crashing into their and the priest's faces, but Sam and Marie are beaming, Dean's their best man, and Sam feels so _completely happy_ he doesn't even remember to wish Mom and Dad were there.

oooooooooooo

Bobby phones them when the dozen or so photos they sent him land in his mailbox. He says he wishes Mary and John could have been there. He says they'd be proud.

It's a testimony of how far the three of them have gone when they don't tear up at the reminder that none of their parents were here to celebrate the wedding.

(Sam and Dean very nearly _do_ cry when Bobby tells them how proud _he_ is.)

oooooooooooo

Things go rather hectic soon after they've killed Lilith. There's a newcomer who takes possession of Magneto's body, and between his _complete_ lack of self limitation, Magneto's power and both their band of fanatic followers, they nearly manage to bring the country to its knees.

Whether Angels entering the battle is a blessing or a curse, that remains o be determined. True, they're mostly _against_ the Demons, but it doesn't mean they can't associate with some of them sometimes –mostly for the _Let's Kill Sam Winchester_ part of things.

Needless to say, neither Dean, nor Marie approve of that.

oooooooooooo

They're the first three Hunters to volunteer when the Government starts to recruit people who'll know what they do in the fight against Lucifer. Their superiors are mostly bureaucrats who forgot what it is to be on the field long ago, and only accepted the job because they liked _The Exorcist,_ and they don't even take the Supernatural Brigade of Investigation seriously anyways.

Generally speaking, the hierarchy takes an instant dislike to them, though whether it's because they're Mutants, because of their job, their lifestyle, their very existence, they don't really know.

(People keep finding new reasons to hate them before getting to know them, anyways, so they've stopped counting a long time ago.)

oooooooooooo

Turns out going legit doesn't change their life _that_ much.

Aside from the satisfaction to know their IDs can't be contested anymore -and the hours of work that go away once they don't have to forge new personas every few days- or the ever-popular I.O.U. forms, their life remains pretty much the same.

They still avoid Mutant detectors like the plague. The SBI may offer them a derogation from registration, having an alarm sounding when you enter a shop still isn't their idea of nice.

(Dean still plays poker as soon as he can, and Sam still rolls his eyes at his antics, but that's okay because, now, Marie distracts him when he gets too annoying.)

oooooooooooo

Fighting Lucifer after so many months spent Hunting –though who used to Hunt who will forever be a mystery- almost ends up being the death of them.

Truth be told, they'd barge into things heads first if an Angel didn't come to them wearing Ororo's body, didn't urge them to wait a little. Which is a good thing because if they didn't, they'd probably die before they can do anything even remotely useful. The Angel helps them make some plans, so that when they finally do go into the fight, they have _some_ chances to get out of it victorious.

(Alive being a nice but uncertain bonus.)

oooooooooooo

As usual, nothing really goes according to plan, and it's Marie's power that saves them all: she touches Magneto until he dies, which disturbs Lucifer long enough for them to perform the ritual that will seal him away again, making sure he can't go back to his original plan of taking Sam as his unwilling champion.

(This time, when both Ruby and Alona –the Angel- tell them about a Human sacrifice, none of them hesitate to grab the first Virgin that passes and plunge a dagger into his heart.

They all know they'll _never_ forgive themselves.

Sadly, they also know it was the least horrible choice they could make.)

oooooooooooo

Even after they've saved the fucking _world_, people still die, and a good chunk of them still become angry spirits that need a good salt and burn: there will always be another Bloody Mary to banish, another ghost to put to rest, another raving maniac trying to control a Reaper.

So in the end, the near end of the world doesn't really change their lives, and they go back to Hunting, except now they've got headquarters of sorts.

(Mostly because Ororo threatens bodily harm if they don't visit often enough and, frankly, even Dean with his hotheaded character isn't ready to cross her.)

oooooooooooo

They can talk about their job freely now, bask in the unknowing worshipping of civilians and smirk at the FBI agents they know during endless hour of fun because _they_ don't have to wait for years to capture _one_ guy.

The Winchester family grows a long-deserved reputation of being the best in the job, something their records fully corroborate, and even though they've got superiors, they end up being the unofficial go-to for the agents of the SBI.

(Dean finds it extremely satisfying.)

oooooooooooo

Sometimes, a FBI agent asks to be transferred to the SBI, eager for action and quick-to-come reward. Most of the time, they go back to their original unit after they understand that, sometimes, they'll have to kill people who would be the perfect neighbor if they didn't turn into bloodthirsty monsters once a month.

oooooooooooo

Dean and Ororo get married in October, and the weather stays mild for the two days of celebration. Bobby, Ellen and Jo are here, along with Ruby, Tamara and Bella, a few other agents from the SBI and, of course, the whole student body of the Xavier Institute.

Marie's the bridesmaid, Sam is Dean's best man, and the pure pride and happiness and _love_ Dean gets from him combined with the sight of Ororo in her simple white tunic is enough to make Dean's throat clench in the middle of his vows.

(Marie captures the moment on her camcorder, and Dean has a plan to get back at her ready before the end of lunch.

Sam uses no less than four rolls of Polaroid.)

oooooooooooo

Marie gives birth to a little boy nine month after the wedding.

John Winchester –the second- nearly shares his birthday with Dean's Juliet –it was Mom's first name.

oooooooooooo

Sam looses hearing in his left ear, and Dean's hip aches permanently after a nasty fall during a Wendigo case. Mary gets a weird, angry brown scar while chasing a Candyman, and her lungs are never the same after that smoke Demon in Ohio. They're all marked, even Ororo, who's not even on the field, and sometimes Dean fears his becoming his father: cold and distant and soldier-like.

He's got his friends and family to shout some sense into him when it's needed, though, so it's okay, he doesn't become John.

oooooooooooo

The kids can fire a .45 before they learn how to cook, they go into the Danger Room faster than any other student in the school, and Juliet gets into terrible fights with her mother each time she insists she'll enter the SBI when she's older –she knows the basics already, and Dean's promised to take her on a hunt once in a while- but they've got friends who care, friends who try to understand, and their Home may be a Freak School, but at least it's a house, which is better than a car.

(Even one as awesome as the Impala.)

oooooooooooo

Marie eventually chooses to stay at the Institute, where she teaches 'Folklore knowledge', a.k.a the basic rules of survival against spirits and ghosts.

(The salt lines and Devil's traps are still there, crucifixes have been drawn on every water taps, and there are silver stakes and Exorcism manuals next to every fire extinguisher.)

oooooooooooo

Sam and Dean still move around a lot, and it's true they miss more football or baseball games than they should, but they come home dutifully for every birthday, every Christmas, Easter and Halloween holidays, and every first and last days of school, which is more than either they, Marie or Ororo ever got.

Besides now at least, they can call for backup whenever they need it, they don't have to fear run-ins with the police anymore, and they've got regular –and good- salaries, which is more than anything they've ever expected from the job.

oooooooooooo

They visit Bobby and Ellen as often as they can, smothering them with photos of Sam's three boys and Dean's two girls and their younger twin brothers.

(Bobby comes at the Mansion every Christmas, bringing new gadgets and ammo supplies with him. Ellen scolds him and buries everyone under homemade biscuits which no one has the heart to tell her are about as soft as marble.)

oooooooooooo

Sam never finishes Law School, and Dean never gets the garage he heard about in the Djinn's vision.

(He meets the Nurse, once, in a coffee shop where she stopped to get a rest from touristic visits.

He feels almost relieved when nothing sparks and he can go back to Ororo and his kids without regrets.)

oooooooooooo

It clicks into place after and easy Hunt, when they come back to the Mansion to find Bobby, Ellen, Jo and her boyfriend waiting for them in complete Halloween costumes.

The students are having a snowball war with the first snow of the year –hurried along by Iceman's helpful nature- shamelessly using their powers to try and come out of it victorious, and the poor kids who just hitchhiked here from California after being thrown out of their home look like they can't decide between being awe or horror struck.

It's true that Freak School often does that to people, and even to a Mutant's eye, it'll probably never, ever look 'normal', but at that moment, looking at their wives, their kids and their friends, the Winchester brothers look at each other and realize that they've stopped wanting normal a long time ago.

oooooooooooo

It's far from the Happy ending they used to dream about, but it's as safe as they'll ever get, and it's family and home and good, and there's no more Yellow Eyed Demon or psychic abilities to worry about.

Sure, there are still things that need fixing: Mutants are still required to be electronically marked, people still think only Humans can be Persons, and Lucifer left marks that were too deep to erase them in so short a time.

But it's, at least, the end of their war, it's the end of their quest for a place where to belong.

(And if it's not Happy, at least it's not Sad either and, frankly, they're not asking for anything else anymore.)


End file.
